Bhadrapur, Apr. 7: The indigenous Rajbanshi community inhabiting Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts in the eastern parts of the Terai are bracing up for the celebration of their biggest cultural festival “The Siruwa”.
The first day of the “Siruwa” which is celebrated for three days with the start of the Nepalese new year is called the “Jal Siruwa” during which the revelers splash each other with water, the second day is called the “Kadah Siruwa” which is celebrated by playing mud and the last day is celebrated by throwing colour and is called the “Rang Siruwa”.
According to the bengali calendar the Jal Siruwa falls one day before the new year, the Kadah Siruwa on the new year’s day while the Rang Siruwa falls a day after the new year. However, according to the Bikram Era the festival begins on the new year’s day and is celebrated for three days in a row.
The last day of the festival is also called “Bisuwa” by the Rajbanshis during which they worship their ancestral god “Salkumari” and hang garlic and onion at their homes as an offering to the god and play with water.
In the evening the same day a special preparation of rice called “Panta Bhat” is prepared. The “Panta Bhat” is dried rice mixed with curry prepared from fish, sajiwan, jute leaves, mango, potato, fern shoot and pineapple. The rice is cooked and immersed in water in the evening. The next day, it is dried and mixed with curry before consuming.
The second day of the Siruwa festival is celebrated as the “Kadah Siruwa” by the Rajbanshis. This day is also the new year’s day for the Rajbanshis. On this day people throw mud at each other and revel in merry-making.
The excitement associated with the Kadah Siruwa which was seen at the Rajbanshi settlements in the past is no more the same these days. The festival seems to have lost its sheen with changing times.
Says Ganesh Rajbanshi, a local of Chandragadhi- “it’s difficult to get the right kind of soil to make mud from and many Rajbanshi youths these days don’t like to play in mud due to changing lifestyles.”
In the evenings on the day of the Adah Siruwa, the Rajbanshi women perform what is called the “Tistawuri Puja” near the banks of rivers or at the wells or water sources. They worship their ancestral make offerings of bananas, puffed rice, gram, onion, garlic and other items and eat it as auspicious food.
The last day of the Siruwa festival called “Rang Siruwa” is celebrated by the Rajbanshis by smearing colour on each other. Rang Siruwa is more akin to the holi, the festival of colours celebrated by the Hindus.
Traditional dances amid the playing of community musical instruments marks the Rang Siruwa. The festival is formally called off for the year until the next Siruwa on this day.
The Rajbanshis, Tajpuriyas, Gangais, Ganeshas, Tharus, Chaudharis, Haris, Kangois and Haluwais all celebrate Siruwa festival according to their own traditions.
Although the Rajbanshis of this area also celebrate the Jatra (Dashain), Ubanshi (Tihar), Dol (Fagu), Jituwa and Dadikodo festivals, the siruwa is the most celebrated and a great festival which evokes great response of the Rajbanshis.
Obviously demands have been made with His Majesty’s Government by various institutions and organisations of the rajbanshis for granting a holiday to all the Rajbanshi employees working at government offices on this day.
Bhumi Raj Rajbanshi, who has been associated for a long time with the socio-economic upliftment of the Rajbanshis and the promotion of the Rajbanshi language, literature and culture opines that the government should show special interest in protecting and preserving the national identity of the Rajbanshis and upliftment of their economic condition. The Rajbanshi population which was about 35,000 according to the census of 2011 B.S. has increased to 85,58 as per the census data of 2048 B.S.
Besides Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts of east Nepal, the Rajbanshis are also settled in Bihar, Assam and Bengal of India as well as in Bangladesh.